[springtime in Anjung-Ri - along the walk with Moo]

I made “the call” today.

You know the one…

The one to the doctor to find out what the results were from my lumbar puncture from almost a month ago.

Not sure why I didn’t call earlier this week.

Ok, that’s not true.

I didn’t call earlier because I wasn’t ready to know.

I wasn’t ready to hear, “Yes, we’ve confirmed it’s MS.”

I figured that could be the only reason why it was taking so long to hear from him.

The Radiologist has been dead set that it is Multiple Sclerosis; the Neurologist has never been quite so sure.

I imagined him consulting with other docs, doing more research, reviewing all my results to date over & over.

I figured it had to be MS & he was trying in vain to find someone who agreed with him that maybe it wasn’t.

So I braced myself and left a voice mail message for him.

And then he called back.

He, of course apologized for taking so long to get back with me…

…and then he said the lab burned down.

Time stopped for a moment while my brain tried to register two things:

1) Wait – the lab burned down?… and

2) Great – another lumbar puncture.

I phased back into the moment mumbling,

“Oh God, please don’t tell me I have to do that all over again”…

He reassured me that my sample had been spared. It had been redirected to another lab & that’s why it was taking so long.

And somewhere in the relief of the moment I realized he was still talking & I was hearing things like,

“…good news for you…”

“…it is NOT MS…”

“…and it is NOT Lyme Disease…”

“…but not certain what it is…”

And everything stopped again.

If they’ve scratched every probable diagnosis off the list, what’s left?

And why does that suddenly seem like a worse outcome?

 ”…more tests…”

“…scrub typhus…”

Scrub typhus?…

Typhus…typhus…I’ve heard that before. But where?

What is it? Is it bad?…

Think Jenn, think!

The conversation ended with a promise to call me as soon as the last test was back in so that they could schedule me for the next round.

 And I couldn’t stand it anymore – I Googled it.

Scrub Typhus:a disease present in southeast Asia transmitted through the bites of infected chiggers (mites). Initial symptoms include high fever, severe headache, shaking chills, cough. Within a week of infection a secondary red-spotted rash appears on the trunk, moving down the extremities. If left untreated additional symptoms can include lung infection, myocarditis, increased pulse rate, severe drop in blood pressure, delirium, loss of consciousness and death by the end of the second week.

Ok….so I’m not dead. That’s good a sign, right?

My blood pressure has increased, not decreased.

I was feeling pretty woozy there for a while when I first got sick, but never lost consciousness.

But everything else seems to match…even my red-spotted stint as Plague Girl.

Could that really be it?